DANVILLE — The Little Johns staged one of the biggest comebacks in school history Tuesday night. After trailing West Fork 52-22 in the third quarter, Danville’s Kyle Frost hit a 22-footer to give the Little Johns a 79-78 nonconference victory.

After an even first quarter and tied 16-16, Danville (1-0) found the going tough in the second stanza. The Tigers outscored them 30-6 to take a commanding 46-22 halftime lead. West Fork scored the first six points of the third quarter to increase its lead to 52-22.

But the Little Johns increased their defensive pressure and hit six 3-pointers in the third quarter — three by Grant Cathey, two by Jay Trusty, and one by Stephen Ramirez at the third-quarter buzzer to pull Danville to within 63-53.

A Trusty steal and layup tied the game at 74-74 with just over a minute to play. With West Fork leading 78-76 and just 1.8 seconds remaining, the Little Johns needed to go the entire length of the court.

Coach Dusty Wright designed a play that called on Grant Cathey to throw a floor-length pass which Kyle Frost hauled in just above the 3-point line. After one dribble to gain a little space, Frost hit the game winner fading away from 22 feet.

POTTSVILLE — The Lady Apaches opened their basketball season with a 43-31 nonconference win over Clinton. Pottsville led 7-2 after the first period, 15-12 at halftime and 27-23 after the third, but put the game away in the fourth quarter with 16 points.

Jenna Goodwin was the defensive star of the game with six steals, six rebounds and seven points. Courtney Dotson led the Apaches with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Alyssa Williamson pulled down five rebounds and hit four clutch free throws to seal the victory.

Pottsville (1-0) played 11 girls in the victory and had several scoring contributions. Erica Lackey had seven points, Jessica Foster scored five points in a pivotal part of the game when Clinton cut the lead to one point. Hannah Barnett had three points and Katie Cormier and Carlee McClure each added two points.

Pottsville SB 48, Clinton 21

POTTSVILLE — The Class 4A defending state champion Apaches led 12-6 after the first period, 34-9 at halftime and 45-11 after the third.

“It feels really good to get the season off to a good start,” Pottsville (1-0) boys coach Shane Thurman said. “The boys have really worked hard this preseason, and it paid off. Cameron Johnston did a great job of distributing the ball, Nathan Walker gave us a huge lift off the bench, and Travis Cole shot the ball well. It was a solid effort by the entire team.”

Dardanelle SG 51, Two Rivers 50

OLA — The Lady Gators stormed out to a 22-5 lead after the first period, but Dardanelle cut that to 29-23 at halftime and 39-36 after the third quarter before winning 51-50 on Tuesday.

“Our kids did a great job of competing tonight,” Lady Sand Lizards coach Kenny McCoy said. “I am proud of that they never gave up. They played as if they never thought they could lose, and in the end that is the way it came out. We have several things our kids know we need to improve on and I know they expect to get better every time we play. Great job!”

OLA — Austin Steen scored 12 points and added six steals as the Sand Lizards defeated the Gators in their season opener.

J.P. Metcalf had six points, while Chaz Crowe added five. Luis Depaz had seven rebounds. Jones led Two Rivers with eight points.

“Both teams were missing several key parts because of football playoffs,” Dardanelle coach Russell Sturdivant said. “That and it being the first game of the season makes for a very ugly ball game.

“I was very proud of our effort all night long. We just didn’t every manage to get anything going offensively to get away from Two Rivers. We left a ton of points out there by missing layups and free throws. Our team knows we will have to be more efficient offensively to be able to compete in our league this season.”

Dardanelle JB 30, Two Rivers 20

OLA — The Junior Sand Lizards scored 11 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth to overcome the Junior Gators. Hunter Jackson had 11 points and seven rebounds for Dardanelle. Landan Bryson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Two Rivers led 12-6 at halftime.

“It’s good to get the first game under our belt,” Dardanelle coach Jared White said. “We had some first-game jitters and missed several easy ones. We get three more practice days this week which is the most important thing to us right now. I was proud of how our guys finished the game, though.”